The Island Funeral

Original title: Maha samut lae susaan

2015
1h 45m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Laila sets out on a road trip to Pattani, one of the three southernmost Thai provinces, to visit her long-lost aunt. Her brother and his friend are tagging along. The three take off from Ban... Read allLaila sets out on a road trip to Pattani, one of the three southernmost Thai provinces, to visit her long-lost aunt. Her brother and his friend are tagging along. The three take off from Bangkok during a time when the capital is going through radical conflict. Being from the city... Read allLaila sets out on a road trip to Pattani, one of the three southernmost Thai provinces, to visit her long-lost aunt. Her brother and his friend are tagging along. The three take off from Bangkok during a time when the capital is going through radical conflict. Being from the city has prevented them from realizing much about the violent outbreaks that have been occurri... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

100

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 4 wins & 10 nominations

Photos11

+ 7

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Review

Featured review

6/10

Art film from Thailand doesn't make much sense but is watchable

In this Thai art film, we have three young people, a woman and two men, going on a car trip from Bangkok to Pattani, in the south of Thailand. They are Laila (played by the beautiful Heen Sasithorn), her brother and a friend, and their plan is to visit her long-lost aunt. However, strange things start happening in their trip, while in the background we listen through the news about some violent incidents in the country.

I don't know much about ethnic politics in Thailand, I do know the south of Thailand has an important Muslim population, and that there are ethnic tension between them and the country's Buddhist majority. Here the Muslims are seen as strange and ominous, and that is a bit unsettling (but it is implied that Laila herself is Muslim, though she has Western clothes and outlook).

Nothing much happens in the movie, except at the end, when the friends reach their destination. Not much is explained. Still the movie is watchable, it did hold my interest, even if it was not clear what was going on. The beautiful photography and the locales help.